<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Meet You There by sam4587</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29876811">Meet You There</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sam4587/pseuds/sam4587'>sam4587</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Merlin (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe – Merpeople, Alternate Universe – Modern Setting, Ambiguous/Open Ending, First Meeting, I started writing and then all of a sudden it got all sad, M/M, One Shot, Open Ending, Pre-Relationship, Sad, Sailing, but also some light stuff, look I don’t know how to say this, merman!Merlin, so anyway</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:35:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,538</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29876811</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sam4587/pseuds/sam4587</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Arthur takes his boat out on the water to escape his day-to-day life, he never expected to meet someone new. But then again, life is full of surprises, some bigger than others. Maybe that meeting isn’t the only surprise for him today?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>The Melee Challenge</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Meet You There</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is written for the Merlin Fic Server Melee-challenge, with word prompt “bracelet” and color prompt Spanish pink (<a href="https://coolors.co/eeb4b3-c179b9-a42cd6-502274-2f242c">EEB4B3</a>).</p><p>I have absolutely no idea if any of what follows in this story makes any sense. I’ve just been reading quite some Merpeople!AUs lately, and then I started writing and this came out. I don’t really know what happened, but I think I like the result. So anyway. Enjoy!</p><p>(Oh, and also: the title is from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkL0PZL2G9I">Meet You There</a> by 5 Seconds of Summer.)</p><p>Disclaimer: The story is mine, BBC Merlin is not. Please do not repost.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Arthur takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. Finally, he’s out. The wind ruffles through his blond hair, messing it all up, but he doesn't care. No one's here to see it anyway.</p><p>He opens his eyes and looks out over the water. He can't see anything but blue around him; he's surrounded by water, and the sky and the sea blend over in each other at the horizon, no real distinction visible.</p><p>Despite the fact that there seems to be nothing particularly special here, Arthur feels like he’s home. He's finally away from the city, from his father's company where everyone expects him to perform at his best all the time. Away from his empty apartment that seems emptier every time he comes home alone.</p><p>A harder gust of wind sweeps over the water and the sails of his boat are filled more for a brief moment. The sudden extra speed makes Arthur stumble and he laughs out loud. He doesn't have a problem finding his footing again and with one hand gripping a rope to keep his balance, he throws his head backwards and lets out a long scream. It echoes over the water and along with it, he can feel the stress of the previous week leaving his body. The fresh air feels like it filters his lungs, as if it's the first real air he can breathe after slowly suffocating in the busy city behind him.</p><p>Arthur takes another deep breath and looks out over the water again. The sun reflects on the small waves, making it seem like there are millions of small diamonds surrounding him. His thoughts start wandering as he watches, finally nothing bothering him anymore.</p><p>A flash of blue.</p><p>A flash of gold.</p><p>And then it's gone again.</p><p>Arthur doesn't notice he’s standing until he feels the ropes of the railing cutting in his hands. He leans forward, staring in the direction the flashes came from. He's just about to decide he imagined it when it returns; the sun reflects on the deepest shade of blue he's ever seen for a brief second, before disappearing once more.</p><p>He doesn't hesitate. Before he can think ‘camera!’, he’s standing back at the railing, his expensive, top-of-the-shelf camera aimed at the place he saw the last flash.</p><p>And then, suddenly, something fills his whole vision and his mouth falls open in disbelief.</p>
<hr/><p>Merlin speeds up when the form appears above him in the water. He can't help the smile splitting his face, even as his mother's voice echoes in the back of his mind.</p><p>
  <em>Don't go, Merlin, you know it's dangerous! If the Queen finds out, you'll be punished! Stop going to the surface, there's nothing there for you!</em>
</p><p>But that’s just it; there <em>is</em> something there, and no matter how hard he tries, no matter how many warnings his mother gives him, he just can’t stay away.</p><p>Because there’s a beautiful human up there, in his boat, and Merlin loves nothing more than watching him, even from a distance. When the sun shines, his hair seems to light up just as golden as the specks on Merlin’s tail, and his laugh is almost as beautiful as the music played at the Queen's birthday party every year – and the best musicians from their community play at that party.</p><p>Merlin doesn't care if he'll get punished; he won't be discovered. He’s sure of that. Since the first time he noticed the human in his boat, he’s found all kinds of ways to escape without being noticed. His confidence grows with every time he manages to get away.</p><p>Unfortunately for him, it's not his community he should be worried about when it comes to being discovered.</p><p>The sun calls to him. It filters through the water, breaking up in millions of shades, shimmering like some of the stones they sometimes find in human shipwrecks. He doesn't think as he breaches the surface, fascinated by the light reflecting on the water and on his tail.</p><p>And then, he hears wind in sails, so much closer than he thought. He turns around and freezes, the blond man on the boat staring at him through something he’s holding in front of his face, his mouth open.</p>
<hr/><p>Arthur blinks and nearly drops his camera in the water. Fortunately, his reflexes are fast enough and he manages to save it at the last second before losing it to the waves. With wide eyes, he stares at the man that just popped out of the water – and who's now staring at him like a deer caught in headlights.</p><p>He's gorgeous, Arthur thinks, before mentally clapping himself on the head. That's not really what's important now, he silently reprimands himself. Nonetheless, his eyes wander over the man. He's thin, but more like slender than scraggy. Drops of seawater are falling from his black hair, running over his bare chest. And then Arthur's eyes travel further downwards and fall on the man's waist – where it goes over in a long, blue-with-gold <em>tail</em>.</p><p>The man seems to startle out of his deer-in-headlights-state and before Arthur can do anything, he turns around and disappears underwater.</p><p>The shock of his sudden disappearance doesn't stop Arthur from calling out after him.</p><p>“Wait! Come back!”</p><p>He leans over the railing, knowing fully well it's no use. Whatever he just saw, it – he? - won't come back. He sighs and his shoulders drop. After a while, he lets go of the ropes and returns to his rudder. Just as he's about to adjust his sails so they catch the wind again, he can feel eyes burning in the back of his head.</p><p>He turns around so fast, he wonders for a brief second if he just gave himself whiplash. Those thoughts go as fast as they came when he sees the man, closer than before this time. His head is tilted to one side, a curious look on his face. Arthur locks the rudder and slowly goes over to the railing again. His boat is not very big; yet, it takes him a surprisingly long time to cross the five feet to the railing in an attempt not to make any sudden movements. By the time he's sitting on the side of his boat, the man has come even closer, just out of reach from Arthur’s legs hanging over the side of the boat. His eyes are the same stunning shade of blue as his tail, Arthur notices absentmindedly.</p><p>“Seen enough?”</p><p>Arthur startles so badly, he nearly tumbles backwards in his boat. When he finds his balance again, he stares at the man in front of him.</p><p>“I- You- What-”</p><p>The man squeezes his eyes and scoffs. “What did you think? That I was some kind of stupid animal,  totally beneath you?” He folds his arms in front of his chest and frowns at Arthur.</p><p>Arthur raises his hands in a – hopefully – peaceful gesture. “No, that's not- I'm just surprised, that's all. Um…” At a loss for any more words, he lowers his hands and shrugs. “I’m Arthur.”</p><p>The man drops the defensive stance and the curious look reappears on his face. “Arthur,” he repeats, as if he wants to taste the name on his tongue. It sends a slight shiver down Arthur's spine. “I’m Merlin.”</p><p>Arthur nods in response, fully aware that that’s a sure way to make the conversation come to an awkward end before it ever really started. The man in front of him – Merlin – doesn't seem particularly bothered by it, however.</p><p>“This is so cool! I’d never dared to hope to be able to talk to you! I've seen you before, of course, you've been coming here for <em>ages</em>, but I always had to stay away. My mother- oh no, my mother. She won't be too happy if she knows I’ve talked to you. But maybe she understands? Maybe if you talked to her <em>too</em>! Yes, that could work! So- What’s the matter?” Merlin interrupts himself.</p><p>Arthur gapes at him. During his stream of words, Merlin has come closer; he's now right next to the boat and Arthur has pulled his legs up so they’re inside the boat. His brain is still kind of processing that this… mermaid? merman? has been watching him. Merlin frowns at him and looks at his arms, wrapped around his knees in an involuntarily protecting manner. He scoffs and backs away.</p><p>“I'm not going to <em>do</em> anything! You're probably not even tasty!” He snaps his mouth closed and his ears take a deep shade of red. His shocked face is so disarming that Arthur immediately takes his word for it; no way <em>that's</em> dangerous. Before he can help it, a huff escapes him, and Merlin’s head snaps back from where he had turned away from Arthur. Before he can say anything, Arthur starts talking.</p><p>“It’s fine. I just don't know you. I’m just being careful. I mean, only an hour ago, I thought you were a myth! I'm, eh, still wrapping my head around it, I guess.” He smiles a little and Merlin visibly relaxes too. He laughs and hauls a hand through his hair.</p><p>“Yeah, I can understand that. We’ve tried very hard to make humans forget us. They always seem so keen on, um, you know, murdering all of us.”</p><p>Arthur raises his eyebrows. “So why are you talking to me then? Shouldn’t you be, I don’t know, sinking my boat or something, so I don’t tell?”</p><p>Merlin scoffs. “Please. I’ve been watching you. You’re no threat. You come here and you scream. But I can always sink you, if you insist? It’s just, you seem to love the sea about as much as I do, so I kinda trust you won’t send anyone to destroy all that makes it beautiful.” His eyes shine as he looks at Arthur, his face so open and innocent, Arthur can’t do anything but agree with him. As if he’d want to ruin that. He decides to let Merlin’s remark about sinking him slide. Merlin must’ve read his mind – what does Arthur know, maybe he can, he’s literally a myth come to life! Anyway, Merlin hauls his hand through his hair again, messing it up even more, and comes closer, so he’s right next to Arthur. As he lowers his hand, Arthur notices the sun reflecting on something around his wrist. Before he knows what he’s doing, he reaches out and catches Merlin’s hand. His fingers briefly brush the fins on his forearm, but Arthur barely notices it; all his attention is fixed on the bracelet around Merlin’s wrist.</p><p>“Hey!” Merlin tugs his arm out of Arthur’s grasp and lowers himself in the water, so Arthur can’t reach him. “What’s the matter with you?”</p><p>Arthur doesn’t answer. His thoughts are falling over each other in his head, racing in a thousand different directions at once. All he gets out of his mouth is, “Where did you get that?” His voice is barely more than a whisper.</p><p>Merlin is visibly taken aback by the change in his demeanor. He frowns and looks down at the bracelet. “I- I found it… in the water, many years ago. What’s wrong?” When Arthur doesn’t answer, he moves to put his hand carefully on his knee. “Arthur?”</p><p>Arthur startles at the touch and blinks his eyes. They’re stinging with tears he didn’t notice. He swallows and looks down at the bracelet again. Slowly, he reaches out, and when Merlin doesn’t pull his hand back from Arthur’s knee, he drags his index finger over the metal band lightly. Upon touching it, he lets out a shaky breath. No doubt now.</p><p>“That’s my mother’s,” he whispers. He can hardly hear himself over the blood rushing in his ears, but he must’ve been audible, because Merlin gasps softly. He removes his hand from Arthur’s knee to drag his thumb over the bracelet, and Arthur immediately misses the weight of his hand. Merlin looks up at him.</p><p>“What do you mean? How do you know?”</p><p>Arthur smiles softly. “Because I bought it for her. With my own money. I saved so long for it. But it was unique; there’s no other bracelet like that anywhere. She wore it all the time. But-” The slump in his throat stops him from going on.</p><p>“But?” Merlin prompts. “What happened?”</p><p>“She disappeared. Died, probably. She left for work, but she never returned. Her boat went down and she was never found. No one survived. We’ve never known what happened.”</p><p>Merlin’s eyes soften. “Is that why you keep coming back here? For her?”</p><p>Arthur smiles sadly. “I feel… closer to her. I was nine when I lost her. My dad hasn’t been the same since then.” The mention of his dad suddenly sobers him up. He sits up and straightens his shoulders. “Whatever. I know it’s stupid.” He gets up and turns his back to Merlin, who’s still looking at him with a soft expression on his face. Arthur starts preparing the boat to go; the thought of his mom has made him uncomfortable, and he suddenly wants nothing more than to just go home and think about something else.</p><p>As he raises the sails, Merlin seems to come out of his slumber. “Wait! Don’t go yet.”</p><p>Arthur stops pulling at the ropes and looks over his shoulder. As they were talking, the sun has lowered; it’s just above the horizon, reflecting in the water like he’s in the middle of a painting from the 17th century. The sky is pink, green, red, yellow, orange, purple and all the colors in between. The light behind Merlin makes him glow, and he looks so much like a mythical creature at that moment, with the water in his dark hair reflecting the setting sun, that Arthur softens infinitely at the sight and he smiles.</p><p>“I have to go back. I don’t like being out here when the sun’s down. But…” he hesitates, but then decides he doesn’t have anything to lose anyway. “I’ll be here tomorrow?” He can’t keep his voice from raising hopefully at the end of his sentence.</p><p>Merlin’s face lights up at his words and he nods enthusiastically. “Yes! Of course!” He glances down at his wrist and gets a determined look in his eyes.</p><p>“Here, take this,” he says, taking off the bracelet and handing it to Arthur. When Arthur opens his mouth, Merlin cuts him off by saying, “Keep it safe. Return it to me tomorrow. Okay?” He smiles again, and Arthur takes the bracelet from him, nodding.</p><p>“Okay,” he says softly, holding the bracelet carefully in his hand, like it’s made of glass and could break if he held it too tight. Merlin smiles and then, without saying anything else, he turns around and disappears in the waves. The last thing Arthur sees, is the setting sun making the golden specks in his tail light up like a thousand stars.</p><p>Arthur looks at the bracelet in his hand and sighs. He slips it on carefully and turns to the rudder. With one more look at where Merlin disappeared, he turns his boat around and sets off for the coast.</p><p>For the first time since long, he’s truly looking forward to tomorrow.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it.</p><p>Just in case you need to hear it: you’re an amazing human being, and everything will be alright. I know it’s just a stranger saying that in the end notes of a fic for a show that’s been over for almost a decade, but you’re worth it, and everything will work out in the end. Take good care of yourself, and look out for the people around you too. We’ll get through this mess together. And if you need someone to talk to, I’m available on <a href="https://invisibility-superiority.tumblr.com/">my Tumblr</a> – or just pay me a visit randomly, that’s also an option. Thank you again for taking the time to read!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>